A refuge from the storm: In 2005, Hurricane Katrina sent 27000 …

In the first few weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, more than 27000 evacuees made Alabama their temporary refuge from the storm , according to Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates at the time, and as many as 5000 of those sought shelter in the Birmingham area. Five years later, many of those who fled Katrina’s flooding , such the Rev. Calvin W. Woods Jr., have long since returned to New Orleans to rebuild their homes, their churches and their …